2014

The Commission intends all phases of the public procurement process to take place electronically from end to end and software systems for this to be compatible EU-wide. A binding European standard is to be developed for electronic invoicing, in particular.

2014

Youth unemployment has risen dramatically as a consequence of the economic and debt crisis in the EU. The Commission presents the Member States with various measures to combat the high youth unemployment level. In this regard it emphasises that the Member States can only increase their competitiveness and thereby achieve more growth and employment by way of “deep structural reforms”.

2014

The European Commission initially wants to adopt non-binding guidelines to make it easier for the Member States to adapt to the negative consequences of climate change. For this purpose, the Commission wants to support the build-up and provision of knowledge about adaptation measures. In addition, the European standardisation organisations are to examine whether industry standards, in the areas of energy, transport and construction, take sufficient account of climate change.

2014

The EU Commission proposes an extensive overhaul of the digital single market rules. Part 1 of the cepPolicyBrief concerns net neutrality and the full harmonisation of the rights of end-users. Part 2 deals with the notification requirement for telecomms providers, radio frequencies and virtual broadband access. The change to the Roaming Regulation and cross-border fixed-network connections within the EU will be considered in Part 3.

2014

With the creation of a new type of European investment fund (ELTIF), the Commission wants to channel "patient" capital from both professional and retail investors into infrastructure projects, property and non-listed companies.

2014

The Commission recommends that the Member States introduce collective actions. Collective actions refers to actions brought by two or more affected parties or by an authority or entity on their behalf. Collective actions should facilitate the enforcement of legal rights, particularly where individual actions are too costly for affected parties.

2014

The European Commission wants to bring in a system to monitor, report and verify CO2 emissions and other climate-relevant information from ships ("MRV system"). On the one hand, the data will create a basis for further political measures. On the other, companies will gain a better overview of cost reductions.

2014

European airspace is currently divided on the basis of national boundaries rather than in order to optimise the flow of traffic. For the establishment of a "Single European Sky” (SES), the EU issued four Regulations in 2004 (SES I) and modified them in 2009 (SES II). As there were significant delays in the implementation of SES I and SES II, the proposed Regulation (SES II+) aims to speed up the process of establishing the SES.